Don't Take My Rhythm Away
by Ashton Li
Summary: Ever since Shinji quit the tennis team, Kamio's rhythm has been off. Is it possible that the reason Shinji left the team is the same reason behind Kamio's poor playing?


**Welcome to my second ShinjiXKamio fic! This is my 5****th**** Prince of Tennis fic (to be posted on here). I don't know if this one went as well as I wanted it to, but I tried.**

**Oh, I do not own these characters or the Prince of Tennis. Ok?**

**Please, read on. I really hope you enjoy it!**

**Don't Take My Rhythm Away**

"Kamio! Kamio!" Tachibana called for the co-captain. It was obvious the other boy wasn't listen. "Why aren't you listening to me?"

Kamio had been like this for awhile now. It all started a week ago when Shinji decided to quit the tennis club. The shock was too much for Kamio to take. He didn't understand why Shinji would quit all of a sudden like he did. It was obvious in the way he was playing tennis of how much he was affected.

"That's enough, Kamio. Go changed and get home," Tachibana told the younger boy.

"Why?" he quickly turned to the captain.

"Your rhythm is off. It's no good if you play like this."

"I'm fine!"

"Don't argue with me, Kamio. Get going."

Saying something under his breath that couldn't be understood, Kamio went to change. It was obvious he was disappointed in himself.

After quickly changing, Kamio slowly walked to his house. His pace was much slower than normal. Something was bothering him. As he walked down the street, he could hear the bouncing of a tennis ball. Turning around, Kamio decided to chase the sound instead of making his way home.

"This is kind of boring. I wonder what the others are doing at practice…" Shinji mumbled as he swung his racket forward.

"Shinji!" Kamio yelled as he caught sight of the boy.

"Hmm?" he caught the ball and looked at the red head. "Akira, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at practice?"

"Tachibana-san told me to go home."

"It's not like him to send someone home. You must have done something to make him mad. Maybe you weren't working hard enough. No, that's not really like you. You're usually a pretty hard worker…" Shinji's voice started to fade.

"Hey, Shinji, can I ask you something?" Kamio wondered.

"What is it, Akira?"

"Why'd you quit the tennis club?"

"No reason…"

"You're lying."

"Don't worry about it."

Kamio looked away. "I haven't been playing the same since you left."

"Hmm?"

"That's what Tachibana-san said. My rhythm's off as well."

"I don't see how I have anything to do with how you play tennis," Shinji began to hit the tennis ball again. His mumbling habit began. "If I'm there or not should affect your game. What am I to you any ways? I know we're best friends, but me being gone shouldn't change anything. We're still friends and all. This shouldn't make a difference."

Even though he was irritated by Shinji's words, Kamio's cheeks still began to turn red. "My game is fine."

"That's not what you said before."

Frustrated, Kamio turned away from his friend and walked away.

Letting the tennis ball bounce pass him, Shinji watched Kamio. "Did I do something to upset him?"

The next day, tennis practice went on as normal. Tachibana played against Kamio thinking that he might be able to figure out what was wrong with him.

"What's wrong, Kamio?" Tachibana wondered.

"I'm fine," Kamio hit the tennis ball.

"Your rhythm's off."

"I'm fine."

"Something's wrong with your game lately."

Kamio threw hit racket. "This is all Shinji's fault! If he didn't just quit, I would be perfectly fine!"

"…Kamio…"

"How can he tell me not to worry about it? Is he stupid of something? If he can just go off and quit, why shouldn't I?" Kamio quickly turned to his captain. "I―"

Tachibana poured water onto Kamio's head. "You need to cool off."

"Tachibana-san…why…can't he understand?"

"I think you should go home. Kamio, I can't have you playing in this condition. Until you figure things out, it's better if you don't come to practice."

"…right…" Without fighting Tachibana's words, Kamio walked to the clubhouse to change. He didn't fully understand what was going on. He knew that it was the fact that Shinji was no longer on the tennis team that was keeping him from doing his best. It just didn't make sense to him though. Why is having Shinji gone causing his game to be so poor? They were just friends. Such a thing shouldn't be affecting Kamio so much. It's not like Kamio had other feelings for Shinji…or maybe he did.

Kamio sat on his bed. He had headphones on and music blaring. He was trying to get as far away from reality as he could. He didn't want to think about Tachibana or tennis. He especially didn't want to think about these feelings that were tangled around his heart.

Knocking came from the door, but Kamio didn't hear it. The knocking became louder and louder. Then it stopped and mumbling could be heard, and the door began to open. A head popped in and looked over at Kamio.

"Akira…"

Finally, Kamio looked up. "Sh-Shinji!" Quickly the boy stood up and threw his headphones to the floor. He didn't even bother turning off the music. "What are you doing here?"

"I can to talk to you," Shinji made his way to the boy.

"Talk? I don't want to talk to you right now."

"Are you mad at me?"

"Why should I be mad at you?"

"I took it…your rhythm," Shinji pulled his arm up and brushed Kamio's hair out of his face. "I had to quit…because if I didn't…"

"If you didn't?" Kamio began to blush. "Shinji, what are you talking about?"

"I can't stay this close to you."

"Shinji, you're confusing me."

"…I'm sorry…"

Kamio pushed himself away from Shinji. Anger grew inside him. "Sorry? I don't understand you sometimes. Can't you just get on with it and tell me what you mean? I don't want to continue being pulled around like this!" Quickly, Kamio grabbed Shinji's shirt in his fist. "What's going on with you?!"

The small gap that was between the two boys was filled when Shinji leaned in and lightly kissed Kamio on the lips. Letting go of his shirt, Kamio's face changed to a shade of red.

"I quit because I couldn't control my feelings any longer. I didn't want to risk anything, so I thought it would be best to stay as far away from you as possible. I didn't want to ruin our friendship because of the things I desire," Shinji explained.

"Give it back…come back…"

"Akira?"

"You are my rhythm, Shinji. I need you more than I though. Please, come back."

"…but…"

"I love you!"

This time, Shinji was the one to blush. He was unable to find the right words until Kamio tightly wrapped his arms around him.

"I'll come back…for you…"

"Don't ever leave me again."

"I won't. I love you too much…"

_**Finished.**_

**Yay! It's finally finished. I'm so happy. I just love Shinji and Kamio together. These two are really hard for me to get the personalities right of. I'll try harder next time.**

**I hope you enjoyed reading my fic as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

**Please, review so I know how I'm doing.**

**Thank you so much for reading!**


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